Abraham & Sasha - By the Fire
by TeamCarlisle
Summary: Abraham and Sasha share a quiet night by the fire.
It was a different world behind the walls of Alexandria. Choices. They all had choices. Sasha had made up her mind, and the time she had with Abraham suddenly felt precious. She sat some ten yards away from the back door of the home they now shared staring at a small fire he had started. It almost felt normal - as if the world was actually the world again.

"What're ya thinking about?" Abraham asked. He sat comfortably in a chair beside her resting a boot on the collection of rocks that kept the fire secure.

Sasha looked up at the starry sky above them and then fixed her eyes on his. "How it almost feels normal."

He glanced at the fire and then over his shoulder at the house. The night was quiet and their little town felt still. "Yeah..." He said with a sigh, and then pulled her gaze back to meet his. "It feels more right than it has in awhile. If we can make it like this for awhile I won't complain." Abraham tipped the corner of his mouth up in a half-smile and felt satisfaction in the small, genuine smile she flashed back at him.

"It does," she agreed with a nod, poking the fire with a stick that laid next to her chair. A wider smile formed on her face, "Now, if we only had stuff to make 'smores."

Abraham huffed a quick laugh and let his grin linger. Sasha recognized when his mind seemed to flutter away from the moment and into a quiet daydream, and so she asked him the question he had asked her moments before. "What are you thinking about Abraham?"

His eyes shifted back to hers and his expression switched from a smile to a straight face and back to a smile. "Possibilities. Glenn... Maggie..." He sighed heavily and adjusted in the seat so his other foot rested on the fire's barrier. "It's somethin' else."

Sasha nodded. "Someone has to make sure the human race goes on, I guess."

Abraham looked at her again and nodded. He let his hand drift to her forearm and felt the same contentment as before when Sasha smiled. She linked her fingers with his and leaned in his direction. For a moment neither one of them spoke. They just took in the silence of the moment, gazing at one another. It wasn't often that they had the chance to stop and catch their breath. Every day was a fight for survival. For both of them, it felt good to be off-guard.

"How do you feel about this?" Abraham asked her.

"About what?"

His eyes never left hers. He wanted to catch her honest reaction. "You and me."

Sasha smirked and Abraham glanced down for only a second as her fingers reactively squeezed his. "I'd say this is the most natural... relaxing... genuine thing I have felt in a long time."

He smiled, crossing one foot over the other and happily accepted her lips against his.

"I think we have to live in the moment," Sasha told him, as they parted briefly. "And enjoy whatever time we're blessed with here."

Abraham guided her back to him and kissed her with a more enthusiasm. Sasha reciprocated his advances and eventually pulled away with a light laugh.

"Just livin' in the moment," he told her with a laugh of his own. Sasha laughed back and placed her free hand over the top of his.

Abraham let his thumb dance over the hand that was locked with his. "I'd reached a point where I felt like all my luck had run out; that I was just here fighting and waiting for my turn to go." Sasha saw a distance in his eyes as if reliving some of the more painful moments, and then his smile returned and his blue eyes squinted almost playfully at her, "But lately I can't keep from thinking how lucky I am."

Sasha smiled wider at him. For whatever reason she felt giddy from Abraham's lines. She knew they weren't just things he said to get her into bed, or to make her feel one way or another. Sasha knew he meant every word.

"To tell ya the truth," he went on, backing away just a few inches, "I didn't really care if I lived or died all that long ago. Now... now I have a little fear in the back of mind. I don't want to die. I worry even more about you Sasha. I ain't used to feelin' that way."

Sasha's face straightened up a bit. "I understand." She swallowed hard, envisioning for a moment what a world without Abraham would be like. The darkness that once held her captive could come back in and consume her; eat her alive. Sasha didn't know if she could bounce back from that type of loss again. She wanted to live out her days with Abraham by her side. It was at that moment, even moreso than before, that she suddenly realized the monumental nature of her feelings for him.

The image of the two of them walking side by side where The Saviors resides popped into her mind.

 _Someone could have come out of nowhere and shot us_ , she thought. She then allowed an even scarier image pop into her mind - the moment she truly thought Abraham was about to die. The men on their motorcycles were in the middle of the road, their leader pointed the gun right at him at close range. _Thank God for Daryl_.

"Scary thing," he added with a laugh, bringing Sasha out of her horrifying daydream. Abraham leaned back in his chair. "But, God..." He rested his head against the back of the chair and smirked at her, "That's livin' darling."

Sasha felt a tightness in her chest. She couldn't shake the feeling of what it would be like to lose Abraham. When she glanced back at him she knew the look on her face was one of worry, or distress. Before he could ask what was wrong she said what was on her mind. It came out so naturally that she couldn't hold back even if she tried. "I love you Abraham." She sighed and nodded, as if confirming it with herself. "I do. I love you."

Abraham smiled but felt a sudden lump in his throat when he noticed the tears that were developing in the corners of her eyes. "Come here." He pulled her toward him and Sasha got up from where she sat, slinking onto his lap. When his big arms cradled her she sunk into the warmth of his chest and sighed, letting only a few tears fall before she contained herself. He kissed her forehead and waited until Sasha glanced up at him. Abraham hadn't said the words in a long time. They had felt foreign to him up until recently, but he knew he had to be honest with Sasha and with himself. "I love you too Sasha. And if I have anything to do with it we'll be having these quiet nights for a couple decades or more."

"I hope so," she said quietly.

Abraham tightened his arms around her and closed his eyes. _I hope so too_ , he thought.


End file.
